


Experiment of a Lifetime

by roguelightning



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25115653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roguelightning/pseuds/roguelightning
Summary: Nikola likes to think himself as a genius, but his latest experiment turns out to be a pain for him. He knows the outcome beforehand, so at least he has that going for him. Getting there, however, is an entirely different story.
Relationships: Helen Magnus/Nikola Tesla
Comments: 8
Kudos: 9





	Experiment of a Lifetime

_Old City, 1911_

“I’m doing an experiment,” Nikola blurted out, making Helen raise one of her eyebrows. There was something in his tone that sounded… different. He always had a habit of getting excited over experiments, but this time it sounded like it was more than that.

“Oh?” she asked. “What’s it about?”

“Oh, not much. Just how to get a system to transition from state A to state B,” Nikola shrugged, trying to feign indifference. She wasn’t having any of it, however.

“What system?” Nikola’s grin was almost infectious at that.

“Can’t tell. Might ruin the experiment.”

“Fine, don’t tell me then,” Helen shrugged. “I assumed that was why you called me here, however.”

“What? No, that’s another thing. I actually… wanted to ask your advice on something. I think I’m in love,” he blurted out. Not letting her talk, he added, “She’s amazing, you know? She’s smart and sexy, and she challenges me in all the ways possible-“

“Does she know about your… condition?” Helen asked on a tone he couldn’t quite place. Maybe she was just worried for The Five. “I mean, you are 60,” she continued.

“Yeah, she knows,” Nikola grinned. “And don’t worry, she won’t talk,” he added. “She’s actually even more cryptic than you. Didn’t think it was possible either.”

“Very funny,” Helen muttered. “Well then, I’m happy for you,” she said in a small voice. “I just hope she can handle you,” she sighed. “No offense, but you can be…”

“Too irresistible to handle at times?” he asked with a smirk. “Yeah, she knows that too. She just realized it, actually, but I can really see myself with her.”

“You almost sound like you’re considering marrying her,” Helen joked, but there was definitely a hint of sadness to her voice.

“Would you be alright if I did?” Nikola asked.

“You deserve to be happy, Nikola,” she said earnestly, and, despite the fact that she didn’t seem too happy about it, he still crossed out _jealousy_ from his notebook later that day.

_New York, 1927_

“I was under the impression you invite more people over for your demonstrations,” Helen said with a smile as she stepped into his laboratory.

“Normally, yes, but I never got the chance to take you to dinner, so I’m taking advantage of it now. Besides, you’re more of a challenge than my normal audience.”

“Is that so?”

“You know I’m immortal, so it would take more than electrocuting myself to impress you,” he said with a grin.

“Well then, do your magic, Dr. Tesla,” she challenged him and he scoffed at that. “Please, you know actual witches,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “You know they have nothing on me.”

“So, what do I do?” Helen asked and in response he extended his hand to her. She accepted it, although a bit carefully, and he dragged her in the middle of the room.

“It’s been a while since we didn’t see each other, hasn’t it?”

“Almost three years, I’d say,” she replied, but he only hummed at that. Without a warning, he embraced her from behind, gluing his body to hers. He grinned when he felt her pulse quicken at that, his lips ghosting over her neck.

“It’s part of the experiment, don’t worry,” he whispered, his breath hot on her neck.

“How many people you’ve done this experiment with, if I’m not being too intrusive?” she asked, trying to maintain an even tone. “I have a feeling you didn’t do this with Samuel,” she teased him, earning herself a jab between the ribs for that.

“Very funny,” he muttered. “And for the record, no, this is only reserved for my most faithful admirers.”

“Who says I’m admiring you?” she challenged and she could have sworn his lips touched her neck at that. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, if she was to be honest, the shiver that went down her spine having too little to do with having a vampire this close to her neck.

“You’ll get there,” he promised as he flipped a switch, bathing both of them in electricity.

“As I said, electrocuting myself isn’t that impressive,” he explained. “Electrocuting you as well, however, is another thing.” She laughed despite herself at that, all her nerves set ablaze by the electricity that ran through them. She had no idea when she had jumped in his arms, but she supposed she had done it more as a reflex than anything else. It didn’t change the fact that he was holding her tight now, his heartbeat impossibly fast under her fingers. She took a step back when she realized the position they were in, pushing him away a bit.

“You win,” she said with a smile. “I’m definitely impressed.”

“No, but you’re getting there,” he smirked at her. “Wine?”

It was almost midnight when she left, and he rushed to his notes, crossing out another word in his notebook that wrote _electricity._ Still, he made a small asterisk near it, adding a footnote. _Subject A exhibits same physical reactions as subject B_ , he wrote. 

_New York, 1943_

“So, everything is settled then,” she said with a sigh. “You’ll have a heart attack tonight, I’ll organize the funeral as soon as possible. Double still says you owe him a bottle of wine for this, by the way.”

“I did tell you that’s a stupid stage name, right?”

“He’s saving your ass, Nikola,” she chided him. “I doubt you have the right to comment on his name choices.”

“Fair enough,” he shrugged.

“Also, he’s asking twice his normal fee because of the risk involved, just so you know.”

“What, he can’t handle a few flames?” Nikola joked, earning himself a glare at that. “As I said, the funeral will take place as soon as possible. My contact will be waiting for you at pier 57. Midnight. Don’t be late, he hates that. Also don’t tell him who you really are if you don’t want to have someone else to pay more than you can afford at the moment. You’ll be safer in Europe for the moment, I’m sorry I couldn’t arrange a plane for you, but it’s not like you gave me too much time to work with in the first place.”

“Helen,” he stopped her, taking her hands in his. “Thank you, for everything,” he said earnestly, earning himself a smile at that. “I know the last thing you needed was having to save my ass, believe me. But you helped me and I won’t forget that. I won’t forget you,“ he said softly, before crushing his lips to hers. She made a sound of protest at that, but it soon died as his mouth moved expertly over hers, his tongue teasing her until she gave him entrance. She clung to him for dear life, suddenly aware that her knees were turning to jelly, and he broke the kiss, a mournful look on his face.

“See you around,” he said with a grin as he passed his thumb over her lower lip, tracing it. Before she had the chance to reply, he ran away, disappearing into the night.

Later that night, when he was on the boat that was taking him away from her, he searched his pocket for his notebook. Taking it out, he crossed another line on it. _Let her save your ass_ , it wrote.

_Rome, 2008_

This could have gone better, he mused as he stood in the catacombs, trying to pull himself from the floor. His abdomen still hurt like fuck, and he threw a glare at it when he realized it wasn’t going to heal anytime soon. That Druitt asshole, he thought. Hurting him was one thing, but having his fist go through his abdomen like that… ugh. He really wished Druitt had washed his hands before that, but he wasn’t holding his hopes up for that.

He was a bit too happy, considering two of his experiments had failed that day. And alright, this may have had a lot to do with the fact that Helen tasted pretty much like he remembered. And that she was a brunette now, so he allowed his hopes to get a bit up at that. Nevertheless, it was nice to have her as a constant in his life, to know that no matter how much time had passed she was still going to be there for him, her lips as delicious as always. It was also nice to know that he could still turn her on a bit – yes, she had ended up shooting him, but those were just details. He was a vampire so he could handle that. Druitt however… Druitt was a variable he hadn’t taken into account. Then again, he supposed he didn’t have to. After all, Druitt had probably been there the first time as well, and it wasn’t like he had made a difference in the end.

Still, when he got home that day and took his notebook, the line he crossed over the _offer her to rule the world together_ was bolder than the others.

_East Africa, 2011_

He got into his hotel room after midnight and practically fell into his bed, unable to hold a grin from spreading over his face. He half considered going to her room and seeing if she wanted to continue celebrating his resurrection, as he had put it, but decided against it. Though, considering the look she had given him, he dared to hope she wasn’t going to shoot him this time.

He knew that look all too well, actually, after waiting for more than a century for her to look at him like that again. He had known she had been attracted to him for a while now, not that it had been hard to tell with the way she looked at him sometimes, her eyes falling to his lips from time to time, her pulse quickening whenever he got too close to him. But the way she had looked at him a few hours before, when he had mentioned his resurrection, that look of _I am so done with you but I love you nevertheless_? That was worth dying for. Quite literally, he thought with a laugh as he took his notebook out of his drawer. It was pretty worn out now, not looking as good as the previous notebooks he had had on the matter. Then again, he had lost count of the times he copied those lines from one notebook to another over the years, each time he crossed one of them a painful reminder of a failed experiment. Though, if he was to be honest, not all of those experiments had been entirely unpleasant. This time, it was different, however, as he circled the last line on the page. A single word was written on it – _death_?, and he circled it with a flourish, throwing his pencil away with a victorious move before he let himself fall in his bed again.

“I should have known,” he muttered to nobody but himself as he hugged his pillow, closing his eyes. It did make all the sense in the world, come to think at it. She had probably thought she was going to have him forever, that she had all the time in the world with him. As soon as that was taken away from her, however…

“Bloody English woman,” he muttered to himself as he shook his head in disbelief. “Time’s a bitch, and now you know that,” he said with a grin before falling asleep.

_Old City, 2011_

“Come on, Helen, you can hide it from the kids, but me?” his tone was almost accusatory, and she settled her papers down, throwing him an innocent look.

“I know you too well, Mrs. Robinson,” he said, his tone flirty enough to make her squirm. Or, at least, that should have happened. She was having none of it, apparently.

“Go back to work, Nikola,” she warned him. He kept accusing her, listing everything he had been finding suspicious as of late, but she just dismissed it as it was nothing. So he decided to stop playing around.

“I’ve been trying to figure it out, ever since I sobered up,” he declared, “and it all seems to come down to New York, 1901,” he said as he turned to her, pointing his glass at her.”When you came to me, asking about the controlled used of nitroglycerine, the target was a Peruvian deep water cave. Now I thought I was helping you catch some useless multi-headed shark,” he continued, his eyes not leaving hers as he spoke.

“And?” she asked, still feigning innocence, but he didn’t miss the way her pulse quickened at that.

“You lied to me,” he said with a grin. He couldn’t even be mad at her, not when all his theories had just been proven to be correct.

“According to our Praxian database, that cave leaves to an arterial pathway to Hollow Earth.” She froze for a second at that, throwing him a look that he dared to hope was in awe at his brilliance. It only lasted for a few seconds, however, before she launched herself into a series of platitudes about not possibly knowing that beforehand. That was when he decided he should give her the final blow. He set his glass down on her desk, propping himself on his arms as he got closer to her.

“The rest of us, yes, but you’ve known it for 113 years,” he said with a smirk. “So I’m wondering if the Helen Magnus who wined and dined me at Hotel Miraflores in 1902 was you… or the other you.” He was so close to her then that he could feel her breath against his lips. His mind raced with all the possibilities they had, wondering how much it would take him to jump over that stupid desk that was between them and kiss her senseless. Also, her chair seemed to be good enough to hold them both, he mused, but then she smiled at him and all thoughts were gone from his head. This was the Helen he had really fallen for, the one who could spend an eternity challenging him, the one that could ravish him if she wanted, and, most important of all, the one who loved him as much as he loved her, and even dared to admit it from time to time.

“Oh, Nikola,” she said as she placed her hand over his cheek and he couldn’t help leaning into her touch a bit. “You’re the genius. You figure it out,” she said and with that she left, taking her papers with her.

He waited until she was out of sight before placing his notebook on her desk. On the page it was opened at, the title was the first thing that caught the eye. _How to turn Helen 1(cca 1900) to Helen 2(cca ~~1960?~~ ~~1990? 2000?~~ 2010) (Or how to get her to love me for ~~William~~ dummies)_

_Note: This started when I was visited by a certain Helen Magnus(hereinafter Subject B) in 1901. Not the Helen from my timeline (hereinafter Subject 1), as I was soon to discover._

_There are a number of evidence to suggest the existence of Subject B, including but not limited to 1) her visiting me twice in 50 years, both encounters ending in things that Subject A wouldn’t have done (though they were very pleasant, mentioning them here is not in the scope of this experiment) and 2) her(assumed) visit of Druitt, which didn’t end well for him. Evidence also points to her visiting James in 1898, but further inquiries have proved that he is not a trustable source on the matter._

_Assuming all of the above as true, I can only come to the conclusion that she will end up falling in love with me at some point in the future. How she got there, however, is still a mystery to me, and hence, the scope of this experiment._

After these lines, the notebook had 5 bullet points:

_Jealousy, electricity, let her save your ass, offer to rule the world together_ and _death_. The first four were crossed out, but the last one was encircled and had a small note next to it – _don’t even try denying it, you just couldn’t imagine living without me, could you_?

He added two words on the last page – _Call me_ – and then left, a smile still playing on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> For Teslen appreciation week 2020 day 3 - Experiments.


End file.
